Toby Part Two: Steele's Revenge
by Omnitrix 12
Summary: Steele's back, and still determined to wreak his vengeance on Balto and everyone close to him, starting with his own daughter Taya. And while Taya has her family to count on, even they may not be enough to save her from the demons of her own past.
1. Chapter 1

**I realize you're all waiting for other stories of mine. But while I get them together, consider this a tide-you-over.**

This story contains a flashback with events and original dialogue taken from redwolf03's story, "A Second Chance: Copper. Flashback is © redwolf03 of Balto Source.

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><p>Taya was having trouble sleeping. She was sure her eyes had been playing tricks on her. All day she kept catching glimpses of a black-and-white dog out of the corner of her eye. But every time she turned to look, there was no sign of him. "It's got to be my imagination," she thought. "He can't be back in Nome." After a great deal of tossing and turning, she finally fell asleep.<p>

Her sleep was troubled by dreams of a snarling malamute fighting with another dog that was part wolf. But the wolf-dog kept changing. One moment it was Balto, then the color would change to the odd, almost metallic mix of cream and red which clad her mate, Copper. Then it would shift back to Balto again. Then the wolf-dog vanished altogether and the malamute was running off with a small puppy in his mouth. The dream was dark and full of shadows, but even so she knew who the puppy was. "Mom!" it called out.

"Luna!" Taya cried out in her dream. She tried to run after them, but no matter how fast she ran she didn't move. She just watched as the dog dropped Luna down a dark hole. Then he turned and laughed at her.

"I'm back," he said. "And I'm coming for you." As darkness closed in on Taya, she heard the laughter growing louder and louder, accompanied by her daughter's cries for help and her own answering cries.

"AAHHH!" she screamed as she woke up. Sides heaving, she stared wildly around the room.

"What's wrong?" asked Copper, awakened by the terrified cry.

Taya looked around, making sure everything was it should be. Only when she had managed to calm down did she tell Copper about her nightmare. "I don't know what's the matter with me," she confessed.

"Well, I wouldn't worry about it," he said. "Dreams don't usually mean a thing. Besides, the dogs that chased Steele out of town said his trail ended right at a cliff. He must be dead this time."

Taya shrugged. "I guess you're right."

Copper smiled and rubbed his face alongside hers. "Relax," he tried to reassure her. "I know Steele's been looming over you for years, but that's over now. And even if he does come back, he'll have to go through me if he wants to hurt you."

Taya shivered. "Don't talk like that. You remember how mad he was at me for becoming your mate. He'd kill you the first chance he got."

"Which won't happen, because he's deeeaad," Copper replied, the last word drawn out into a yawn. "Well, I'm going back to sleep." He gave her a reassuring lick, put his head back down, and was soon quietly snoring.

Taya was just about to follow his lead when a scratching came at the door. "Hello?" called a voice, "Is Taya there?"

Without waking Copper, Taya crept to the window and looked out. A strange mix-breed stood on the front step, scratching the door. "Hello?" he called again.

Taya went to the door and whispered, "Who wants to know?"

"I've got a message for Taya. Is she here?"

'A message?' she wondered. "Yes, I'm Taya," she said after a moment. "What's the message?"

"Somebody wants you to come see them pronto," answered the stray. "Said it was important."

Sensing trouble, Taya turned and headed back to bed. "Sorry, not right now. Come back in the morning."

"He said it couldn't wait. He said it was about Luna."

Taya's ears pricked up. "What about Luna?" she asked.

She could almost hear the stranger shrug. "I don't know, but it sounded important. Listen, are you coming or not? If not, I need to get going."

Taya stuck her head out the petflap. "What's the message?" she asked again.

"You'll have to come with me," answered the stray. "He said it was for your ears only."

Taya followed him down the darkened street. "I'm warning you," she said, "If you're up to something you'll regret it."

The dog shrugged. "I'm just doing my job. I've got no part in this but the two bones I'm getting paid to fetch you. You can believe me or not, it makes no difference to me." He led her to a dark alley, where he stopped and gestured. "In there's where he said to meet him."

Taya looked into the shadows. Even though the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon, the alley was still dark, just like her dream. "I'm not going in there," she said.

The dog shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said. He watched Taya pace nervously. "Look lady, us street dogs don't usually talk to housedogs, but you don't seem stuck-up to me. If you want, I'll watch and make sure nothing happens."

Taya shook herself. 'What is this?' she wondered. 'I grew up in the fighting pits and I can't even handle an empty alley?' "I'll go in," she said at last.

She stepped into the alley and heard a scuffle behind her. She spun around to see the messenger lying motionless on the ground. Standing over him were three dogs, two of which Taya had never met. But the third one she knew all too well…

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><p><strong>Oh great, what's Steele up to now?<strong>

**And just so you know, I do realize Steele is probably a husky. I went with malamute because that's what he is in redwolfo3's fanfics and I wanted continuity.**


	2. Back For More

**Great. Steele's back in town again, and he's after Taya. Now what do you suppose he's plotting this time?**

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><p>Later that morning, Copper woke up to find Taya missing. "Taya?" he called. There was no answer. "Taya?" Not a sound. He sniffed, and at once he knew that she wasn't home. 'That's weird,' he thought. 'Never knew her to be an early riser.' He looked at the ground and saw her tracks leading away, along with another set of pawprints. 'What's going on here?' he wondered. Following the trail, he came across a mutt lying on the street looking as if he had been in a fight with a gorilla. "Hey, are you alright?"<p>

The dog opened an eye that was nearly swollen shut. "Ouch," was all he said.

"What happened?"

The stray rose shakily to his feet. "I got beat up. What's it look like?"

Then Copper remembered what he was doing. The strange tracks led right to the stray. "Do you know a dog named Taya?"

The stray looked at him in surprise. "Not really. But I saw her this morning."

"What were you doing?"

"Well, somebody woke me up almost an hour before sunrise and told me he had a job for me to do. Said he'd pay me two bones to go tell Taya that he had a message for her and that she was supposed to meet him right here in this alley." He scratched his head, then winced when his paw struck a bruise behind his ear. "I went to the house he told me to go to, got Taya to come here, and then when she went in there…" he pointed to the alley, "Three maniacs jumped me and I was out. Dunno what happened after that."

Copper had a bad feeling about the situation. "Did you recognize him? The guy who hired you?"

"Nope."

"Well, what did he look like?"

The stray shrugged. "Dunno, really. Never saw him in the light. Looked pretty tough in the shadows, though."

"Well, do you know what the message was?"

"He wouldn't tell me. He just said that if Taya wasn't willing to come I should tell her it was about Luna."

"Luna?' Copper was really anxious now. "Is that all you know?"

The stray thought for a minute. "Yeah, pretty much."

Frustrated, Copper put his nose to the ground and kept following Taya's scent down the street. But before long, the trail disappeared.

"Copper!" called a familiar voice. "There you are!" Copper looked up and saw Dixie trotting in his direction. From the way the terrier was panting, it didn't take a genius to figure out that she had some big news. Copper, however, had no time for gossip.

"Not now, Dixie. I'm trying to find Taya."

"But that's why I've been trying to find you! I woke up this morning, looked out the window, and there was Taya, walking towards the west edge of town."

"Thanks," said Copper. He was about to head in that direction, but the next thing Dixie said froze him in his tracks.

"She was with someone."

Copper's ears shot up. Knowing Dixie's brand of story-spreading, it was pretty obvious what she meant. "What?" he asked. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, she was following him, and he kept looking back to make sure she was keeping up."

Copper's mind was spinning like mad trying to make sense of the story. Dixie was a notorious gossip, but she had never been known to lie about seeing something. Jump to conclusions, yes. But not lie. "Did you see who he was?" he asked.

"That's the strangest part," Dixie said. "It was Steele."

Copper's ears lay back. "STEELE?" he asked. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, who'da thought?" answered Dixie. "Taking off with that no-good double-talker."

Copper furrowed his brow. " Dixie, could you do me a favor and _not_ spread this story around? I'm sure there's more to it than there seems."

Dixie considered. "Well, I suppose," she agreed.

"Thanks," said Copper, dashing off. He knew for a fact that there was more to the matter than Dixie suspected. And it wasn't just that he knew Taya too well to take what Dixie had said at face value. He knew that Taya couldn't have run off with Steele because he knew that Steele was Taya's father.

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><p>Meanwhile, about a mile and a half outside of Nome, four dogs were marching along: Steele, Taya, and two street dogs Steele had recruited. Taya looked like she had been hit by a tank, which was pretty close to what the other three had done.<p>

"You know Taya, it was quite a shock when I found out you'd taken Copper for a mate," Steele was saying. "And you didn't even invite me to the wedding," he added sarcastically.

Taya's ears were plastered against her skull. "That's because I'm not stupid," she replied. "You've never been anything but trouble for me or anyone else."

"And you really thought I would be OK with you getting mixed up with Balto's pack of half-breeds?" Steele asked. "You thought I'd just go on my way and let you live happily ever after with a wolf-dog, is that it?"

"Why do you think I didn't tell you,besides the fact that I thought I'd already wiped you out? Anyway, those half-breeds have been a lot better to me than you were, _dad_," she growled. "And at least Copper didn't leave me to die like _you_ did. Like you're planning to do right now."

"I had better things to do than waste my time with kids. That was your mom's job." Taya's fur bristled and a snarl rose in her throat, but Steele ignored her. "Now keep on walking and don't look back. And remember, if I ever see you again…" he drew a paw across his throat.

Taya bared her teeth, but she knew she couldn't fight three at once. So she kept on walking.

Steele waited until she had gone about a hundred yards and was out of earshot. Then he turned to his accomplices and gave a toothy grin. "Make sure she doesn't come back," he said. He watched, laughing to himself as they took off after Taya.

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><p><strong>Sorry if this chapter should be longer. But this seemed like a good place to stop.<strong>

**Please review.**


	3. Surprise, Surprise

**My apologies for taking so long to update this. Readers from Balto Source will notice several differences, including a new scene. Enjoy. :)**

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><p>Copper headed off in the direction Dixie had told him, wondering what Steele was up to now. So far the dog had tried not less than four times to destroy his family, going back to before Copper himself had been born. Now it seemed like no one was safe, not even the terror's own daughter. He was still trying to figure out how such an old dog could survive seemingly on hatred alone, when a voice broke his thoughts.<p>

"Hi Copper!"

Uh-oh. That could only be one pup and... yes, they were together. The owner of the voice, Toby, was playing with Luna in a storage lot by the harbor. They were using a beam suspended from a crane as a merry-go-round, running it in a circle until the rope was good and twisted before they jumped on and let it spin itself out.

"Hey Dad!" called Luna. "What's up?"

"Nothing," said Copper, not wanting to worry her. "I'm just trying to find your mother, that's all."

Luna jumped off the beam, stumbling a little as she struggled to regain her balance. "I'll help," she offered.

Toby hopped off. "Me too," he volunteered, facing the wrong way. He'd been getting tired of the game anyhow.

Copper's eyes twitched back and forth. "It's a little more complicated than that," he said evasively.

"Like what?" asked Toby, instantly intrigued.

"Well…" said Copper slowly. "She's missing. She was seen this morning heading out of town with another dog."

"Who was it?" asked Luna.

Copper lowered his head, and his voice carried a clear note of hatred. "Steele."

The pups' ears flew up and their eyes flew open. "STEELE?" they asked in unison. "But what's he doing back in town?"

"I don't know, but it can't be good," said Copper. "Listen, I'm going after them. You two behave yourselves, alright?"

Both pups nodded. "Sure Dad," Luna promised with a slight twinkle in her eye.

Despite his concern for his mate, Copper paused. "You know what to do if anything happens while I'm away?"

"Go find Grandpa Balto or one of my aunts or uncles. Or Toby's dad," she added as an afterthought, referring to Rex, the head of Nome's canine police.

"Maybe I should go get him," Toby suggested.

Copper shook his head. "There's no time. This is family business." _'And personal,'_ he thought to himself as he dashed off on his way.

After a brief pause, Luna turned to Toby. "You want to follow him?"

He grinned back, always eager for an adventure. "Well, he did say there was no time to lose."

They followed Copper's trail, taking care not to give him too much of a head start lest they lose him or too little lest he see them following and tell them to go back.

Meanwhile, Copper was trying to find the trail. _'Steele,'_ he thought angrily, _'If I get my teeth on you, so __help me they'll need__ a crowbar to pry me off.'_ His relationship with Steele made most conflicts between in-laws seem like a nice game of rip-the-rag. First there was that little thing about the ousted sled champion trying to murder first one and then both of his parents, of course. More recently, and more personally, was yet another attempt that involved kidnapping Luna. Now Steele had gone so far as to mess with Taya. Copper was not about to let that go.

'_Okay, let me see…'_ Finding nothing on the straightest path out of town from his home, he skimmed along the edge of the settlement looking for any dog tracks leading away. A few turned up coming and going, but these proved to be of no concern. Most were wolves who had ventured into the outskirts of town looking for food.

At last he found a cluster of tracks, definitely canine, leading out of town. The bad news was, they were so jumbled despite leading in one direction that any visual cues were all but erased. Expecting more of the same as he had already seen, he bent his head down to sniff. Strays. He started to turn away, then paused and sniffed again. No, there was a familiar scent amongst them. "Taya," he uttered. He could no more be mistaken about that scent than he could confuse his own nose with that of another dog. A second sniff confirmed his suspicions. Steele was there as well. So what of the strays? He couldn't tell for certain how many dogs had contributed to the track, and for a moment wished he had agreed to get Rex's help. _'No, the longer I take the more danger Taya will be in. As for whatever accomplices that scum has, when I get to them their nu__mber will drop to zero one way or the other.'_

With firm resolve, he set off again in pursuit.

It took Taya a few moments to figure out what was going on, but when she heard the sound of running paws behind her and turned to look, there were Steele's minions hot on her tail. Panicking, she darted off at top speed. Her muscles started throbbing and her lungs began to ache as she literally raced for her life across the tundra. _'Gotta get out of here,_' she thought, but there was no place to go. Then as she cleared a hill she spotted an old building in the distance and raced toward it. It looked familiar, but she had no time to try and remember where she had seen it before. The front door was open, so she dashed in and slammed it shut with her back legs. She heard Steele's goons barking outside, and the door shook a few times as they rammed against it. But the hinges, though old and rusty, held soundly and the strays soon gave up.

She looked around. She was in a room that took up most of the building. At one end, several crates covered by a faded red-checked tablecloth formed a makeshift stage. Everywhere throughout the room there were chairs and crates set up to serve as seats. In the middle there was a sawdust pit surrounded by a tall iron fence. The sawdust had once been stained red, but now it was faded to a dull brown.

Taya's mind flashed back to a time years ago, when the seats had been filled with as many as fifty or sixty people, all yelling like madmen (which most of them were). Many of them waved wads of money or bottles of whiskey in the air. Dogs were fighting in the ring. Strong dogs, weak dogs, big ones and small, biting, slashing and howling loud enough to wake the dead. Taya shivered as she broke out of her trance. No wonder the building was so familiar! It had been her home once! This place… was the place of the Northern Fights.

A sound made her turn her head to an opening door at the back of the room. Out stepped a man in old clothes, mostly mismatched. She had last seen him in a reasonably good suit, but the face was still the same. _'__Carson!'_ she thought, bristling. Nicholas Carson was Taya's former owner, and if there was anyone she hated more than Steele, it was him.

"Taya?" he asked in recognition, laughing. "Well, waddya know? Here I am, getting supplies to go back into business, and along comes my old champion!"

Taya lunged at Carson, rage burning in her eyes. She had no plans of letting him start this place up again, especially with her as the star attraction. Seeing her fury, he slammed the door in her face, momentarily dazing her. She heard him running to another door about ten feet away and was there waiting when he opened it. But as she lunged, she found herself trapped in a bedsheet. She tried desperately to claw her way free, but before she could get loose he had snatched her up, shoved her into a cage, and slammed the door shut. The lock clicked just as Taya threw herself at the door.

"Don't know how you got so cocky, dog, but you'll remember soon enough who's boss around here." He grabbed a rope attached to the cage and started to pull. "Better put you in the kennel with the others."

The kennel, as it turned out, was a storage room full of cages. About half of them held dogs, and none of them looked happy to be there. "Meet your new friends, Taya," he laughed over the barking. "Once I've got a few more, you're all going to fight each other so I can see who's strongest. Then I'll smuggle the five winners down to New York City to be my new champions when I open up for business there. Five champions, five times the money!" He kicked Taya's cage into a corner and walked out, laughing as he slammed the door behind him.

At about that time, Copper reached the point where the tracks diverged. One set went back to Nome, the other three continued on. He studied them, cursing himself now for not bringing experienced help. He was a fighter and a father, not a tracker.

"Okay, think Copper. She's got to be one of the ones that continued; Steele wouldn't let her go back." He sniffed the tracks making a U-turn and growled. "Steele."

His first instinct was to go back, to track Steele down and kill him. He began to turn, but stopped. No, his first priority had to be Taya. With firm resolve, he headed off after the other three tracks. Steele could wait; in the meantime, he'd made a huge mistake leaving his goons to do the dirty work. If Taya was still alive and on her paws, the two of them would be unstoppable. If, on the other hand, they had hurt her in any way, then the gloves were off.

He followed the tracks for several minutes, beginning to run and trot in turns. It was on his third round of trotting that he spotted two forms approaching. As they drew nearer, he realized that neither one was Taya. Growling, he hunkered in a shallow depression in the snow and watched, every part of him laying flat.

The two dogs were both strays if their scraggly looks were any indication. One was brown, the other a splotchy mix of gray hues. They were moving at an unhurried pace.

"Come on, you louses…" he growled to himself. He had already planned his attack. If they stayed on their course, they would pass right by him. A quick ambush and, with some luck and a few old moves he could get at least one of them down, preferably the bigger one, before they knew what hit them.

As they drew still closer he could hear them talking. When their conversation became clear, his eyes widened. Their words changed everything.

"I say we just lay low," the gray dog suggested. "Forget about the pay, and make sure he doesn't find us. No questions asked, no awkward answers."

"I don't like doing jobs without getting paid," answered the brown. "It's tough enough getting food in our bellies without stiffing ourselves."

"Yeah, but we didn't do the job," answered Gray.

"So what?" asked Brown. "She's not getting out of there anytime soon, so we can at least tell the boss we took care of her. If he presses for details, we make something up."

"And what if she does get out of there?" asked Gray.

"She's not going to get ou-a-AAH!" yowled Brown as Copper struck him full in the side like a grizzly. With a ferocity born of having nothing to lose, Copper worried him like a rag and slammed him onto his back. With the blindsided dog pinned in place, he put his paw on the exposed throat and bared his teeth.

Copper felt the old fire racing through his veins, the fury he had not felt since he and his family fought Steele for what should have been the last time. It was just as well that aggressive "negotiation" was all he had time for, because he wasn't in the mood for anything else. "You, gray dog!" he fairly roared. "If you want your friend to live another minute, give me some answers!"

Gray shivered like a leaf, unable to move. Copper had picked wisely; with the more confident of the two at his mercy, the weaker one was more scared than if it were his neck on the line.

"I know you were told to take out a female dog, mostly chow, and kill her. Where is she, and what did you do to her? Don't lie or so help me, they'll need a bloodhound just to find what's left of you two."

Gray bought it hook line and sinker. "She's alive!" he fairly blubbered. "She escaped into some old house and got locked inside, I swear! We roughed her up a bit, but she's fine! We didn't want to-"

"Did I _ask_ what you wanted to do?" Copper demanded in a low, menacing tone. "You were hired by an older dog, black and white. Right?"

Gray nodded. So did Brown, not that Copper cared. He wasn't interested in anything from a dog who had been so ready to lie.

"Well you listen, and listen well. You two steer clear of him and don't breathe a word about our little meeting, or it'll be the last word you breathe. Understood?!"

"Y-y-yes."

"Good." Brown was struggling for breath now, so Copper let up the pressure just enough to give him some oxygen. "Now, if I follow your tracks will I find her?"

They nodded.

"Alright. I'd better find her alive and well, because I have more connections than you can imagine in Nome, and if she's hurt I will comb every alley, crawlspace, and drainpipe until I find you two." He got off of Brown with a shove. "Now get out of my sight."

They needed no second bidding. As Copper moved on, a strange feeling came over him with a shudder. He'd thought that the old fighter in him was gone, dead. Yet it had come back so readily. That should have been reassuring, to be able to call on his aggression when his family needed him most, and it would have been except for one thing.

He had wanted them to resist. He wanted an excuse.

Taya clawed and bit at the wire mesh, but she couldn't make any headway. As her anger dissipated, it gave way to despair. _'I'm trapped,'_ she thought, _'And there's no way out.'_ Consumed with defeat, she laid her head down and let out a sigh. _'This time there's no Copper to bust me out of here.'_

"Hey, you okay?" asked a dog in the cage next to her old enough to be her father.

She scoffed. "Do I look okay?" she asked.

The dog pulled back slightly. "Hey, hey, easy," he said. "I'm just asking. Name's Blaze, by the way."

"Taya."

There was a moment's silence as Blaze studied her, like he were trying to figure out some puzzle. "So how'd you get here?" he asked. "Did he kidnap you too?"

"No," she answered. "My…that is, someone I know chased me here. I ran inside looking for safety…"

"…and found out you were better off outside," he finished. "I know how you feel."

"I doubt it," said Taya. "My family must be going out of their minds worrying about me."

"You feel like you let them down, huh?"

Taya shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. I should have fought back, not run away. Maybe then I wouldn't be here."

"Maybe, maybe not," he said. "But you're not the only one to feel like you've failed someone because you didn't try hard enough."

Taya wasn't sure why she cared to listen to him at a time like this, but poor comfort was better than none. Besides, she was stuck in that cage one way or the other, and she felt a strange sense of familiarity toward the stranger, as if she knew him once from somewhere. "Have you done it yourself?" she ventured.

"In a way," he said. "I used to have a friend… a lady friend, but not a girlfriend, you know? I really liked her, but she always seemed to already be going out with someone else. Then after the epidemic in 1925, she started going with this guy who anyone could see was a real jerk. I tried to tell her he was bad news, but she said that she thought she could change him. Instead, he changed her. Soon she wouldn't have anything to do with me or any of her other friends." He paused, visibly pained by the memory. "My master moved out of Nome and took me with him. When we came back later, I found her in an alley giving birth to their pups."

Taya winced. "Awkward."

"Worse than awkward. She wouldn't let me near her, wouldn't talk to me at all. Then after she gave birth to the pups she did call, and told me to find help. There was something wrong…" he trailed off.

Taya knew all too well what that kind of pause had to mean. "She didn't make it, did she?"

He shook his head. "No. She died in that alley, and it was weeks before I could forgive myself."

"Forgive yourself?" echoed Taya. "What the heck did you have to feel guilty for?"

He shrugged. "All kinds of things. Not getting help fast enough, or leaving town in the first place. For a while I thought that I should have asked her out long before that, and then she wouldn't have ended up with Steele."

It was all Taya could do not to burst out at the sound of that hated name. "Steele? The same…" she paused, trying to say anything except what was dancing around in the front of her brain, fighting its way toward her mouth. "The same dog who tried to sabotage the sled run?"

He shrugged. "That's him. Or was him; I heard a bunch of dogs ran him out of town and he hasn't been heard from since."

Taya bit her lip. _'I should be so lucky,'_ she thought. "So what happened then?" she asked.

"Well, I did the only thing I could do to ease my conscience. I found a few dams with litters of their own who were willing to nurse an extra pup or two. Didn't tell them where the pups came from, but I think at least one of them figured it out anyway. I just hope the pups themselves never found out. I'd like to think that they could live normal lives without the burden of knowing what their father did."

It was a long time before she dared to speak. "I hate to break it to you, but at least two of them did. Their foster mom told them."

There was that look on his face again, trying to figure her out. "How do you know?"

She took a deep breath to steady herself. "I'm one of them."

Blaze's eyes widened. "Do you mean you're…"

"SHHHH!" she warned, looking furtively around. Fortunately none of the other dogs seemed to be keyed in on their conversation. "Not so loud!"

"Oh, sorry," said Blaze. Pushing his head up as close to the cage as possible, he whispered, "Do you mean you're Tasha's daughter?"

Taya nodded and lay down on her stomach. "Yeah. Big surprise, huh?"

The old dog shook his head and spoke in a hushed tone. "I'm terribly sorry. If I'd known who you were, I wouldn't have said… well, what I mean is…"

"It's better this way," Taya cut him off. "I wondered about my mother a lot, and for better or worse, now I know."

"Well, I think you should know that she was about the best dog in Nome before Steele came along. She didn't have a home, and her father was a real rat, but she was always willing to help somebody else. Her one shortcoming was that she always wrapped her life around being with boys."

Taya looked at the floor of her cage. "That's helpful," she groused.

Blaze's voice softened. "I'm sorry, Taya. I can't begin to imagine how hard it must have been, growing up without your mother. But I can tell you this: she loved you even before you were born. And if she had survived, you would've had the most loving mother any dog has had since the beginning of time. I know she's proud of you for thinking about your family when you're stuck in here."

"What do you mean, 'she _is_?'" asked Taya. "She's dead, right?"

"Yes, but you love her even if you never knew her. And no one you love is ever really gone. Your mother, your family, everyone you hold dear is here right now in your heart, where they'll always be."

Now it was her turn to be dubious. "Do you really believe that?"

He chuckled a bit in spite of himself. "Taya, if I didn't believe it I'd go stir crazy."

A banging sound from under the floor drew their attention, and before they could guess what it was a grate in the floor began to rattle. "What the Sam Hill…?" asked Blaze.

Before he could finish, the grate popped open like a Jack-in-the-box. "Taya!" gasped a familiar dog covered in cobwebs.

"Copper?"

"Oh, thank goodness. Come on, let's get you out of here." He padded up to her cage and began fiddling with the hinges.

"I take it you two know each other," Blaze observed, looking from Taya to Copper and back again.

"Yeah," Taya replied. "Blaze, meet my mate, Copper. Copper, Blaze."

"You know him?" Copper asked as he got one hinge pin almost halfway out.

"Long story."

Unfortunately they were so preoccupied none of them thought of who else might have been roused by the sound of Copper's entry. "Well well," sneered a voice. "Looks like someone wanted in on the show."

Copper whirled to face the speaker, but only saw stars as an iron bar crashed across the top of his skull like a thunderclap. Then like a night sky being covered by clouds, the stars faded one by one into blackness.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh great, what are they going to do now?<strong>

**Well, that's for me to know and you to find out.  
><strong>


	4. Unexpected Company

**Sorry for the long delay. So, when we last left them, Copper and Taya were both captives of Nick Carson, Taya's sadistic former master. And their only hope is... oh, right. This isn't good.**

Meanwhile, Toby and Luna were still tailing Copper. Toby had already given the tracks a once-over, and determined that Copper was following Taya, Steele, and two other dogs.

"Maybe we should get your dad," Luna suggested. "we'll make better time if he can carry us."

Toby shook his head. "He'd just say to stay put while he had all the fun." Deepening his voice and adopting a halfway decent impression of his father's southern twang, he added, "Chasing after one maniac like Steele is bad enough, but if those other two dogs are on his side you won't stand a chance. Besides, time is vital right now, and I can't have you two slowing me down."

Luna shrugged, trying not to let on that she was a bit uneasy about the whole matter. It wasn't the strange dogs that worried her, but Steele. For one thing, how could you fight someone so demented, so unpredictable? The fact that he was her grandfather just made it worse. "Maybe it would be better if he went instead."

Toby snorted in derision. "No way. Did Balto go back for help?"

"You're not Balto."

"Well my dad wouldn't either, and I'm sure not going to. I'm following them, but you can stay if you're scared."

Luna's face took on a dangerous expression, with her eyes narrowed and her ears back. "I'm not scared of that big bully," she shot back. "I just don't want you getting in trouble."

"Right, because I was the one who got kidnapped last time," Toby nipped sarcastically.

That was pushing it. "Listen, you," she growled, "I'll go anywhere you go, and that's that. Just don't slow me down."

"Ha! Eat my dust," Toby shot back, and took off at a run.

Luna was close behind, and together the two pups scampered across the tundra, not making very good time but still making headway. It wasn't very long, probably not more than half an hour, before Toby skidded to a stop. Luna crashed into him from behind, burying him face-first in the snow.

"Hey, what's the holdup?" she yipped.

Toby pulled his head out. "There's two dogs headed this way."

"Mom and Dad?"

Toby sniffed the air, which luckily had begun blowing in his direction. "No, two dogs I've never smelled before. I think they're strays."

"They must be the other two who were with Mom and Gran… Steele."

Toby nodded. "Let's hide behind that rise over there and let them pass."

Luna agreed, and the two of them quickly ducked out of sight, watching the two strange dogs with their eyes wide and their ears down. They couldn't hear any conversation, but the two dogs were moving at a pretty good clip and looked badly scared.

"Think your mom taught them a lesson?" asked Toby once the strays were out of sight and he and Luna were back on the trail.

Luna shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted. "If she was fighting them, she was fighting them with Steele too. Even she's not up to three against one."

That didn't bode well for Taya. "Let's go," Toby whispered as son as the dogs were safely past. The two of them took off following the tracks again, a little more earnestly than before.

They kept on, pausing only to take stock of what had happened wherever they found odd marks in the snow. The print of one dog's back – Toby guessed it was one of the strays – surrounded by pawprints that smelled of Copper – marked the place of a fight which Copper had clearly won. Further on, they found the place where Steele's tracks veered sharply to the left and the rest kept going, with all other strides lengthening into a dead run there.

"I guess... this means... that Steele had them... follow Mom," Luna panted. All the walking and running was hard on her short legs, and she'd missed lunch to boot.

"Yeah, but... for how long?" asked Toby, not faring much better (if any) than Luna. "You... think she's... okay?"

"She has to be," Luna replied. "We know Dad... found them... so..."

There was no need for her to finish. If Copper even suspected that those strays had done anything to Taya, he would have left them in no shape for running.

"Hey!" barked Toby, "Up ahead!"

In the distance loomed what looked like an old house or something. The tracks veered in that direction.

"Looks like that's where they went," said Luna.

They reached the building and nosed around, looking for a place to get inside. "This place smells nasty," grimaced Toby, wrinkling his nose. "It's all musty and... ugh, I'm not sure what else but something smells bad."

"Hey, I think I found a way in." Luna dug away at some drifted snow, clearing a gap between two boards near the ground. "Let's go in."

The pups carefully entered, squeezing through and letting their eyes adjust to the darkness. "Ugh, smells even worse down here," Toby scowled. "I can't find my way in this place. There's too many smells everywhere."

"Hey, I think I found something." Luna raised up on her hind paws to study a rusty old cage. A thorough inspection showed it to be on some kind of sliding track, long since rendered useless by dirt and decay. The door was equally disabled, hanging by a twisted locking mechanism barely still screwed in place. The hinges had been unpinned.

"Hey, I think one of my ancestors was here," said Luna. "Taking the pins out is an old family trick."

"Yeah, but why would they be here?" Toby wanted to know.

Luna shrugged. "How should I know? Until a couple of weeks ago I didn't even know who my grandpa was."

Toby had to admit that she had a point. "Well, I can't pull any scent off the cage. Whoever or whatever was in it split ages ago."

Luna was disappointed. She had wanted to find out more about the cage that she was sure had some tie to her family's past. Her past.

"Let's get going," urged Toby, anxious to get out of this place. His brain was beginning to sort out the odors here. Mildew, rotting wood, something or maybe a lot of somethings that had died and been left to rot, and the stench that hung around the building people where people walked in and staggered out. There was one other scent, and although he had never detected it in a human before, he recognized it as the stench of wicked people. It seemed to trail through the air, but wherever it came from it seemed to have been there a long time.

Then he caught another whiff. "Copper!" he barked.

Luna jumped. "Where?"

"Somewhere around here. He's been in recently. Let's follow him."

They trailed the scent through the crawlspace to a duct blocked off by a crate. "No good," whispered Luna.

"Let's try that one over there," said Toby, heading for one nearby.

* * *

><p>Up above, Copper was just coming around in the cage next to Taya's. "Come on you old mutt, wake up," Taya urged her mate. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to kiss him or chew him out for coming. It was great that he tried to rescue her, but look where that got them.<p>

"I think he's waking up," observed Blaze as Copper stirred.

Copper let out a few groans, tried to lift his head, then dropped it at once as if someone had been holding it by a string and let go. "Oh, my head..." he groaned.

"Are you alright?" asked Taya anxiously.

Copper blinked and looked around. "I think I'm okay, but I can't see too well." He blinked some more and a look of despair came over his features. "I take that back. I'm not okay."

"Pretty gallant of you trying to rescue Taya," Blaze commended him, "for all the good it did us."

She shook her head. "You shouldn't have followed. You know that Steele is my problem."

This drew a bitter laugh from Blaze. "I thought your mate was the one who got hit on the head. If it concerns you, then it's his business to get involved."

Copper rolled his eyes toward the old dog, feeling to groggy to move anything else. "Stay off my side if you want to win," he grumbled.

Blaze cleared his throat and pointedly looked away.

"Taya," Copper reasoned, "I know about the whole family thing, but you _are_ my family. You have been for a long time. He's trying to destroy everyone I care about, not just you. So it's as much my business, if not more my business, to see him stopped. Besides, what right would I have to call myself your mate if I didn't try to protect you? If I were the one in danger, wouldn't you be doing the same thing as I did?"

Taya had to admit that Copper was right. "Well, thanks for trying. For all the good it did."

"Hey, we're not beaten yet. We've been in worse places." Copper struggled to his feet.

Taya's eyes bulged. "Copper, rest!" she barked in alarm. "You took a pipe to the head, remember?!"

Copper shook his head, ignoring the fireworks display that erupted within. "Gotta get out of here," he replied.

Blaze looked at Taya. "Don't suppose there's any help where he came from," he ventured.

"Is there?" she asked anxiously.

Copper groaned and slumped to the floor, his strength at an end. "No. As soon as I knew Steele had taken you out of town I followed. No one knew where I was headed except... oh, I know I told someone, but it's all fuzzy."

"Well, as a matter of fact, we are fuzzy," came a voice behind them.

**Da-da-da-DA-DADA! Puppy Power!**

**Sorry, I couldn't resist.**


	5. Crashing the Party (and something else)

Sorry for the long delay. I've been working towards getting something actually published. I know you're anxious to get on with the story, so I'll give details at the end. PLEASE READ THEM.

"Are you two crazy?" asked Taya, eyes wide as the two pups emerged from a . She looked at Copper. "Tell me you didn't bring them along for the ride."

""Don't worry," Luna said, shaking dust from her fur and rubbing one ear to dislodge traces of an old spider web. "He didn't."

"But he didn't say _not_ to come either," Toby added cheerfully.

"You pups need to get out of here right now," said Copper, urgency overcoming his induced stupor. "If Carson comes back and finds you in here, there's no telling what he'll do."

"But we came to help rescue Mom," Luna argued.

"And you," put in Toby. "And the others, I guess."

"No," Taya insisted. "You shouldn't have come here."

Toby began fiddling with the hinges on Copper's cage as Luna did the same with her mother's. "Well we did, so we might as well get you loose."

"We're not taking that risk," Taya insisted. "You go. We'll think of something."

Blaze cleared his throat. "Much as I am for protecting the pups," he put in, "I think they're..."

"Not your children," Taya answered coldly, fixing him with a gaze a lot more like her father's than she would have cared to admit. Blaze looked pointedly away.

"Come on, Copper," Toby argued, walking up and placing his paws against the cage.. "You'd get us out if we was in there."

"That's because it's my responsibility as a grown-up," Copper grumbled, still a little dazed from the hit. "We're supposed to look after you kids."

Toby fiddled some more with the hinge pin. "What about Balto?" he asked.

Copper nodded readily. "Yeah, getting my dad would be a good idea."

Toby shook his head. "No no, I mean if Steele's back in town he'll go after your dad. Right now, we're the only ones who know."

"Dixie knows," Copper countered. Then his face took on a despairing look. "Except that I told her not to tell anyone."

"See?" asked Luna, working to remove the lower hinge pin on her mother's cage. "We're your best chance of getting out of here."

Blaze cleared his throat. "As much as I respect your authority, Taya, Copper, I think that the pups are onto something."

His point was emphasized by Toby pulling his pin free with a final tug. The force of it toppled him backward, sending the pin in question flying from his grasp. It struck the bars of another cage, but the sound was lost amidst the general hubbub.

"Alright," Copper said at last after a look at Taya. "You can get us out, but when we get home I'm going to see that your parents have a good long talk with you about this kind of thing, Toby."

Luna winced on her friend's behalf. "I'd hate to be you," she whimpered.

Taya gave her a look. "Don't think you're getting off the hook either," she said pointedly.

Toby shrugged. "Well, one pin to go." He bounded back to the cage, but the second hinge was too high for him to reach.

"Try the grate," Copper suggested. "If you prop the cover against this cage, you might be able to use it for a ramp."

Toby tried the plan, and although Luna had to help him with the propping up part they got it done. There was some discussion of freeing Taya first in this manner, but Taya pointed out that since Copper was better with the hinge trick he could get her out faster once he was loose.

"You guys going to get us out?" asked a mixed breed dog nearby.

"Don't be stupid," said another. "They're here for family, not us."

Toby loosed his grip on the pin and ran his tongue over his teeth. "Of course we'll get you guys out, as soon as they're free."

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Taya noted, though it made her sick to say it. "It could take hours to get everyone here loose, and we can't count on Carson not coming in during that time. We're taking enough of a chance as it is."

Copper and Blaze nodded. "It's great that you're getting us out," said Copper, "But we shouldn't risk you being shot, or worse."

In Blaze's old eyes there appeared a bit of a spark. "Well before we give up all for lost, I think I know a way around that." He looked at the hole in the floor from whence the pups had emerged. "And to keep you two happy," he added to Copper and Taya, "It should have at least one of the pups safely out of harm's way."

"You mean one of us has to sit out the fun?" asked Toby in dismay.

The parents exchanged nods. "We're listening."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Nome, two figures walked out to an old wreck of a boat. Rosie, who by now was in her teens and already a fine young woman, carried a basket of food – mostly leftovers with a few choicer bits to lend it some quality. With her came Jenna, who carried herself eagerly despite the age in her bones. The husky wanted to look as young as she could for her mate.<p>

"Balto!" called Rosie at a distance, cupping her hands to her mouth.

She expected the old wolf-dog to come bounding out to meet them. Well, not bounding out, but walking fast anyway. Balto seemed intent on living in his old bachelor flat, even as it seemed increasingly intent on one day collapsing into a more literal kind of "flat." Sadly his independence had taken its toll on his health, and he was weak with years and poor conditions.

Jenna began to worry. Despite his deteriorating health, Balto should have at least another year ahead of him, certainly more if there was any justice in the world. Besides, he had promised her a long time ago that if either of them felt like they didn't have much longer to go, he'd move in with her so they could finish out their time together in comfort.

Both of them grew more concerned as they lowered the distance. At last they stood in the very shadow of the boat, and still no sign of Balto.

Rosie looked at Jenna. "Maybe he's asleep," she ventured, avoiding the other possibility.

Desperately anxious now, Jenna raced up the gangplank and began nosing about for her beloved. "Balto!" she barked.

She and Rosie heard the whine at the same moment and raced to the far side where a clump of fur lay in a disheveled heap, looking up at them weakly.

"Balto!" they both cried in alarm.

The old hybrid smiled painfully at their presence, then closed his eyes and sank into oblivion.

**Instead of the obligatory teaser about Balto's survival and Blaze' strategy, I'll spill the goods. I've sent off a story to a magazine for kids by Focus on the Family called Clubhouse Jr. If they accept it and others like it, I'll have a chance to make money off of my writing - which will leave more room in my schedule for fanfics. So keep your ears open; I'll be releasing more updates as events warrant.  
><strong>


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